Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-09-07

who knew her and those who did not mad,
her visits, and each and every one had some
thing to say.
One brought punches of some wonderful
herb; others suggested that there was never
any certainty Of what crazy woman would
do; that she might any day murder jamie and
burn the house, and others suggested that
perhaps she had been crazy long ago and had
burned their house years before. Others ad-
vised her to send her mother to the 1crazy
house" and others condoled with her, saving
that now she could never get married, for no
one would want q wife who had a crazy
mother, and that like as not it might run in
the family, and so on, until jamie was on tho
verge Of distraction.
What rasped the worst was that all these
well meaning people invariably used the word
"craxy," and it sounded so harsh in her ears
that she could scarcely bear it. DR.. Carroll
had spoken 80 gently of the dreadful fact and
always called it insanity or dementia, or some
other scientific name that robbed it Of part
Of its horrors; but tho neighbors kept up
their kindly meant torture until Janie's eyes
took on such haunted, pitiful look that Dr.
Carroll could not withstand their pleading
and straightway fell in love with their owner.
Janet neither sent her mother to an asylum,
nor changed any Of her old ways unless that
it was to be more tender Of her, if possible.
and try still harder to make her happy. Ano
in her way the afflicted woman was happy as
she sat in her chair day after day, without
speaking unless spoken to. and quiet and
harmless.
But. to be able to give her mother more at
tention, Janet had to neglect some of her
household duties, and her watchful neighbors
began to say among themselves that she was
growing "slack," q term Of severe reproach,
where idleress was held to be a vice, and the
farm suffered in consequence.
DR.. Carroll visited the house as usual and
told Janet how to care for the poor mother,
and even at this the neighbors took exception
They had ono and all wished jamie to have
her mother put under restraint. and were
vexed that she did not listen to them, and in
short they began first to blame and finally to
condemn jamie; and after the manner of peo.
pie in small villages considered it their duty
to look after their neighbor's affairs as well as
their own, and one or two astute women dc.
cided that DR.. Carroll had no business to go
there 30 often, taking Janie's hard earned
money for nothing, since nothing could cure
the mother
1t did not take long for this gossip to reach
his ears, and his indignant denial only made
matters still worse for the poor child, and
very soon innuendoes were made and here
and there hint, and at last it was openly
talked Of that jamie was no better than she
should be, or she wouldn't let the doctor visit
there so much without any fee, and people
grew cool, and at last it seemed that Dr. Car
roll was the only friend she had.
At last the doctors eyes were opened and
hal vNnvn I<,ryA To, Al.
life would have no charm for him. and he told
her 80 with diffidence that showed the depth
of his affec, ion. jamie went very white for a
few minutes with a joy beyond expression,
and then she slowly came back to the knowl-
edge that such happiness was not for her,
and when, at last, she raised her lovely eyes,
her lover read his doom in them. He kno W
all her heroic self sacrifice and her high re-
solve, vet he strove to change her resolution,
and he left her at last without hope, but with
q sentiment akin to alteration
That night jamie fought her battle all
alone, and resolutely strangled her love and
all the bright, girlish sweetness died out Of
her face forever, and she looked like the
ghost Of herself, but she never flinched, then
nor after, in her duty.
As time passed the little farm nroved less
and less lucrative, as she had to depend more
and more on the hired man, and many times
she needed money SO much for her mothers
sake that she decided to Sell her horses, when
one morning things changed for her.
DR.. Carroll had been gone from the village
some six years, for he could not bear to be
where he could see this girls martyrdom and
not be able to share it, and she heard that he
bad married a rich young widow. She did
not blame him, yet felt that in her heart no
one else could ever have gained place.
Her neigbbors had ceased visiting her, with
the exception Of one or two busybodies who
came when gossip was scarce and they
wanted some new phase OF the "crazy
womans" life to talk about. So jamie had no
one to advise with or lean upon, and her de-
cision was made and the horses were adver-
tised for sale in the county paper.
Only then did jamie know that though she
could buy in her own name, she could not sell
without her mothers consent, and the horses
could not be sold The old doctor had passed
away, and finally some officious people then
came forward and discussed the question Of
taxing legal steps to relegate the management
OF the farm and affairs of Mrs Downing to t.
board of trustees. Janet listened in silence.
She hai no valid reason to offer as to why
the law should not take its course, only that
sns did not wish to be separated from her
mother, and they pacified her by telling her
that "they would see."
After the visit of these men Mrs Downing
grew very restless and Wild, and somehow
she seemed to imagine that they had some
thing to do with the raising of the barn,
which was now old and weather stained.
She kept asking questions relating to tho
dinner that had been prepared, and appeared
to he expectiug the guests and helners Al